Puity applicator tool



Dec. 1, 1959 w. A. LAUSMAN 2,914,798

PUTT Y APPLICATOR TOOL Filed July 17, 1957 INVENT OR WALTER A.LAUSMAN BY f A) ATTORNEYS.

United States; PatentO PUTTY APPLICATOR TOOL Walter A. Lausman, Baroda, Mich. Application July 17, 1957, Serial No. 672,410

12 Claims. c1. 183.5)

This invention relates to putty tools, and more particularly to an improved putty tool or applicator, which, when used by the average unskilled layman, will enable him to become quickly skilled or professionalized in the art of window glazing, either as a trade professionalor a do-it-yourself home repairman. In the usual application of putty during window glazing operations, a conventional putty knife is very often used by unskilled hands in a somewhat awkward and tedious fashion, accompanied by the usual difiiculties of trying to hold the knife blade at the proper angle to the window pane, simultaneously trying to effect the proper spreading and compressing of the roughly applied putty mass along the sash, while at the same time hoping that at least an acceptable if not altogether pleasing appearance will result. Further, upon the completion of the spreading and smoothing of the putty with a conventional putty knife, an undesirable strip of excess putty is often left on the pane which must be scraped off in a careful manner so as not to upset or mar the newly-finished putty application.

Therefore, in order to avoid the foregoing and other usual difficulties incident to putty application with a conventional putty knife by the unskilled layman, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved tool for applying puttyto windows which will overcome said difficulties, while at the same time greatly improving the eificiency and overall end result achieved by the operator whether he is skilled or unskilled in the art of putty application.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved putty tool having guide means for automatically positioning the tool with respect to the-pane and adjacent sash to assure a uniform angle between the surface of the applied putty strip and the pane.

Another object is to provide an improved putty tool having a handle portion provided with a fiat pane-engaging surface and an attached symmetrical compressing and smoothing blade enabling the tool to produce a smooth, uniform putty strip and to clean off excess putty during movement of the tool in either direction along the glazing edge of the sash.

A further object is to provide an improved putty tool,

which, while producing a clean uniform strip of compressed putty, has means on the symmetrical blade portion to prevent a build-up of excess putty beneath the compressing and smoothing portions thereof.

Still a further object is to provide an improved putty both left-handed and right-handed persons and may be employed on wood or steel type windows.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing an improved putty tool having a handle provided with two adjacent flat surfaces disposed at an obtuse angle to each other, one of said surfaces serving as a pane-engaging tool-positioning surface and disposed to be placed flat against the window pane; and the other adjacent flat surface of the handle serving to mount a tapered winged blade having a flat central portion with uniformly dihedraled or angled compressing edges at the tapered extremities. The edges of the blade are further preferably sharpened in a plane generally parallel with the flat central portion of the blade and serve to cut away any excess putty that may tend to build up beneath the compressing and smoothing central portion of the blade as it is moved along thesash and pane.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one illustrative form of my improved putty tool as seen in the working position on a fragmentary portion of a window sash;

Fig. 2 is a front or pane-engaging end elevation of the tool; I

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the same tool;

Fig. 4 is a side View, partly in elevation and partly in section, showing the improved tool applied in working position similar to Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of a modified form of the tool; and i Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings, in which 1 generally designates the improved tool which comprises a handle 2 having two smooth or flat adjacent edge surfaces 3 and 4 forming an obtuse angle which may vary as will be pointed out hereinafter for different types of windows, but which is shown as approximately 113 in the illustrative form herein. The flat surface 4 of the handle 2 serves as a mounting surface for a blade 5, while the adjacent flat surface 3 is designed to act as a toolpositioning surface and is intended to be placed with the flat surface 3 directly against the window pane. The handle 2 further is preferably formed in an arcuate shape as at 6 to fit comfortably within the hand of the user. In addition, the handle is provided with finger-gripping recesses 7 to enable the user to get a more firm grasp on the tool.

Although the handle 2 may be made from any suitable material, a plastic material has been illustrated; and further, it may be desirable to produce said handle in a various assortment of colors for better eye-catching sales appeal.

The handle 2 is preferably provided with two drilled or otherwise suitably formed holes 8, 8 to receive suitable blade attaching means to be described in more detail hereinafter.

The blade 5 may be made from any suitable strong material, preferably a polished stainless steel, and the blade is preferably of a shape or form having a somewhat trapezium outline, with the front and rear edges 9 and 10, respectively, being parallel while the two side edges 11 and 12 are symmetrically tapered away from each other from front to back, at an angle of approximately 67 with respect to the pane-engaging front edge (Fig. 3), said angle serving to establish a suitable beveled or mitred corner effect for adjacent meeting strips of putty as at 13 in Fig. 1, said sides then terminating preferably in squared-off parallel rear portions 14 and 15, respectively.

The blade 5 includes a flat central portion 16 laterally terminating in symmetrical winged areas on each side of its longitudinal center. The opposite non-parallel sides Patented Dec. 1, 1959 or wing-tips of the blade 11 and 12 respectively, are uniformly dihedraled or angled upward at any shallow i suitable angle, such as 15 (see Fig. 2), and serve to compress and channel the roughly applied putty beneath the smoothing central portion 16 of the blade. The

* outer marginal edges 11 and 12, respectively, are also provided with sharpened cutting edges 11 and 12' which serve to cut away any excess putty EP (see Fig. 1) that may tend to build up beneath the compressing and smoothing portions of the blade as the tool is moved along the pane and sash during use. The blade has its front edge 9 beveled at an angle as at W (Figs. 3 and 4) so that when assembled with the handle 2, a flush smooth paneengaging front surface is provided, not only by the handle edge 3, but also along the whole blade front edge 9. This construction helps to effect a clean putty-free pane adjacent the putty strip. The blade is secured to the handle in any suitable fashion, and two illustrative ways have been shown in the drawings. In Figs. 1-4, the blade 5 is provided with two recessed and countersunk screw head bearing shouldered areas 17, 17 which align with the mounting holes 8, 8 provided in the handle 2. Preferably smooth-surfaced countersunk head type drive screws 18, 18 are used to secure the blade to the handle, which gives the smoothing portion of the blade an uninterrupted or screw-slot-free surface, as best seen irTFigs. 3 and 4.

Figs. 5 and 6 show an alternate way of attaching a generally similar blade 5' to the same handle 2, wherein the blade has two studs 19, 19 suitably secured as by spotwelding along the longitudinal center of the blade and disposed to align with said mounting holes 8, 8 Within the handle 2. The studs are of a size slightly larger than the mounting holes so as to provide a securepress fit assembly of the handle thereon.

The bottom of the blade 2 is preferably provided with a highly polished smooth surface to more efiiciently facilitate the compressing and smoothing operations of the putty.

The mode of operation of the tool should be readily apparent from the foregoing detailed description, but to summarize it, after the rough-positioning of the putty P along the sash frame, the tool 1 is held with the positioning surface 3 of the handle 2 firmly pressed against the pane and with the obtusely angled blade 5 resting on the edge of the sash frame. The tool is then worked along the sash and pane, whereby the dihedraled compressing and smoothing blade 5 efficiently forms an attractive, uniformly angled and'smoothly compressed putty strip around the window.

It will be noted that the symmetrical winged blade makes it possible for both left and right-handed persons to operate the tool with ease, and that the design of the dihedraled blade and pane-flush positioning handle and front blade edge insure a clean edge of putty with no trail or line of excess or unwanted putty being deposited on the glass pane. Also due to the sharpened cutting edges 11 and 12' along the leading edges 11 and 12, respectively, of the wing-tips, any excess of putty that may tend to build up beneath the tool is cut away, thereby permitting only a desired given amount to enter beneath the wings to be compressed and smoothed by the central smoothing portionfd of blade 5.

The various angular dispositions of the blade and handle components shown and described are for practical illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be construed as limiting the invention in any respect. It is readily apparent that the tool may be constructed to vary the different angular relationships according to desired and varying specifications of various types of windows on which the tool is to be used. However, the angular dispositions as illustrated have proven themselves to be very satisfactory for use on both'wood and steel type windows without need for further variations.

While the specific details have been herein shown and changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A putty applicator tool, comprising a blade member having a central flat putty-smoothing face of substantial area, and a handle member attached to said blade member and extended upwardly therefrom, one end of said handle member having a flat face defining a guide for the blade memberwhen the flat face of the handle member is seated against a window pane.

2. A putty applicator tool, comprisinga" blade member having a central fiat putty-smoothing face of substantial area, and a handle member attached to said blade member and extended upwardly therefrom, one end of said handle member having a flat face disposed at an obtuse angle to the putty-smoothing face of the blade member and defining a guide for the blade member when the flat face of the handle member is seated against a window pane.

3. A putty tool applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade member is extended laterally beyond at least one side of the handle member.

4. A putty tool applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade member is extended laterally beyond the opposite sides of the handle member and the handle member is disposed centrally between the opposite edges of the blade member.

5. A putty applicator tool as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one lateral end of the blade member is inclined upwardly in the direction of the handle member at a relatively small acute angle with respect to the flat body of the blade member.

6. A putty tool applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade member isextended laterally beyond the opposite sides of the handle member and the handle member is disposed centrally between the opposite edges of the blade member, and the opposite end portions of the blade member are inclined upwardly in the direction of the handle member at a relatively small acute angle with respect to the central fiat body of the blade member.

7. A putty applicator tool as defined'in claim 1, wherein at least one lateral end of the blade member is inclined upwardly in the direction of the handle member at a relatively small acute angle with respect to the fiat body of the blade member, and the extreme lateral edge of the inclined end of the blade member is beveled in the form of a knife-edge.

8. A putty tool applicator as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade member is extended laterally beyond the opposite sides of the handle member and the handle member is disposed centrally between the opposite edges of the blade member, and the opposite end portions of the blade member are inclined upwardly in the direction of the handle member at a relatively small acute angle with respect to the central flat body of the blade member, and the extreme lateral edges of the blade member converge toward the fiat face of the handle member.

9. A putty applicator tool, comprising a blade member having a central flat putty-smoothing surface on the lower face thereof and terminating at itslateral edges in upwardly inclined putty-compressing wings, a handle member attached to said blade member and extending upwardly from the upper face thereof, said handle member having a flat tool-guiding end face extending upwardly from one transverse edge of the blade member at an obtuse angle to the fiat central putty-smoothing surface of the blade member.

10. A putty applicator tool, comprising a blade member having a central flat putty-smoothing surface on the lower face thereof and terminating at its lateral edges in upwardly inclined putty-compressing wings, a handle member attached to said blade member and extending upwardlyfrom the upper face thereof, said handle member having a flat tool-guiding end face extending upwardly from one transverse edge of the blade member at an obtuse angle to the flat central putty-smoothing surface of the blade member, and the upper end of the handle member extending forwardly from the upper edge of the flat end face thereof to the opposite transverse edge of the blade member.

11. A, putty applicator tool, comprising a blade member having a central fiat putty-smoothing surface on the lower face thereof and terminating at its lateral edges in up \vardly inclined putty-compressing wings, a handle member attached to said blademember and extending upwardly from the upper face thereof, said handle member .having a flat tool-guiding end face extending upwardly the blade member and terminating flush with the lower surface of the blade member slightly in advance of the last-mentioned transverse edge.

12. A putty applicator tool as defined in claim 9, wherein the respective opposite side faces of the handle member lie substantially perpendicular to the central flat portion of the blade member and are each provided with a finger-grip depression of substantial area corresponding generally to the gripping area of a human finger.

References Cited in the file of this patent v UNITED STATES PATENTS 967,480 Wright Aug. 16, 1910 1,523,238 Sagadencky Jan. 13, 1925 2,247,603 Christman July 1, 1941 2,247,604 Christman July 1, 1941 2,385,149 Martines Sept. 18, 1945 2,730,756 Greene Ian. 17, 1956 2,818,602 Haretik et al. Jan. 7, 1958 

